Draco Requital
by GodessOFmars2
Summary: WARNING: BOOK 6 SPOILER! Draco was running for his life. He heard one of the death eaters laughing 'I wonder what the Dark Lord is going to do to you when he finds out you weren't the one who killed Dumby' Draco gulped. [[picks up where JK left off]]
1. Draco's Bright Begining

**Title:** Draco Requital

**Chapter:** Draco's Bright Beginning

**Author:** GoddessOfMars2

**Updated:** July 26th 2005 00:20am

**Rated:**R for violence and mature theme (and that Draco Ginny stuff we know and love to hate)

**Featuring:** Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley/Harry Potter + Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but old socks and a worn-out Asimov collection

**Summary: **What will be Draco's fait now that he's failed to fulfill the Dark Lord's wishes? (This fic picks up when book 6 leaves off, literally)

* * *

**Chapter One**

**Draco's Bright Begining**

Panting, his heart beating, he could feel nothing but the soaring pain in his lungs, he wanted to die, to Apparate as far away as the tube-like feeling would take him, but he couldn't, he needed to run, he needed to follow the Death Eaters, to Apparate with them back to Malfoy Manor, and await the calling of the Dark Lord which they all knew would come tonight…

He would want a full report, Draco thought as he reached the outstretches of the school's ground, the Dark Lord would know that he -Draco- was not the one who took Albus Dumbledor's life.

_I cant breath_ he thought

Draco felt someone pat him on the back

'Ready Drake?' asked a female voice. But Draco couldn't answer, he couldn't breath

'I cant breath' he whispered with the little air he had in him.

'Oh goodness,' the woman said mockingly 'would you like me to get your fucking mother Draco?' she laughed 'seriously, lets get out of here!' he could hear the smile in her voice as she ordered the return to Malfoy Manor, wrapped her arm around Draco's upper body and the unmistakable feeling of being assisted to Apparate came upon him.

Draco's shoes came in contact with the black surface of the entrance hall he called home, the insoles of his shoes pressing hard against his feet, and for some reason, his knees refused to buck up, and he fell to the ground, his arms holding him about a foot and a half away from the floor, still fighting his lungs to supply him with more air than they were currently allowing him to breath…

'Draco?'

He could hear a loving female voice nearby, although it seemed to have come from miles and miles away. _Mother… _He wanted to speak, to say something... like _I want to die_ but nothing came out, nothing, not even air.

Draco felt his eyes closing, the air still refusing to enter his blood stream, and his head pounding from the lack of it. His body went numb, and thank Merlin for that, because he couldn't deal with thinking, not right now, _not ever_. Draco heard the faint noise of his entire being hitting the marble surface of his floor with a distant 'thump' before it all went black.

* * *

_A floating feeling filled the room, and Draco arose from his bed_

'_How did I get here?' he wondered, 'was it all a dream?'_

_But he couldn't know._

_Draco walked to his bedroom door and yanked it open, the Manor seemed more cheerful than he had ever seen it before 'odd' he though, but gave it no more heed. Draco began walking down the stairs, feeling a funny feeling within his stomach_

'_Am I hungry?' he asked himself 'and why am I talking to myself?' he pondered_

'_Master Malfoy' a house-elf bowed down to him as he entered the great entrance hall that lead to the front yard, why was he going outside when he's so very hungry?_

_The front door seemed to open for him with no effort at all, and he walked right through it. The feeling of spring hit his face, and he could smell nothing but growth floating in the warm summer morning. Besides himself Draco closed his eyes and inhaled as much of it as he could, when he opened his eyes he found himself running down to sixteen stone steps –he'd counted- and out into the miles of grass and trees and growth to the side of the stone-path leading out of the grounds. Draco ran, ran as far as he could, among the grass, feeling his bare white feet being caressed by the dew-covered grass as they came in contact with the ground. He spread his arms out, closed his eyes and ran, almost floating in the air, feeling a smile creep up upon his face, a feeling of liquid heat spreading inside of him. Warming him up from the inside out, licking his veins, he felt happy-_

'Draco!' _no, no, no, this wasn't happening, that couldn't have been a- _'Draco! Drake wake the hell up! It's time and my arm feels like it's going to fucking burn off if we don't get there soon!'

Someone was shaking him, but he didn't want to open his eyes

'Fuck you!' he heard himself say

'Fuck me Draco? What the fuck? Do you want me to fucking Crucio you awake?'

'Whatever!' Draco muttered, snuggling even more into what felt like his Father's study's black dragon-skin couch _how did I get here?_

'ALECTRO! Get your ass in here and wake this brat up!' screamed the way-too-high male voice

Draco laughed into the throw-cushion

'Oh, so you think this is funny? Do you like have amnesia or something Drake!' the man's attention was back on him.

Draco was about to retort with a smug comment but then it hit him, and the door to what he was sure was his father's study opened, and he felt his breath escape his not-yet-totally-awake self. _Dumledore was dead, Snape had killed him_

'..._the Dark Lord_' Draco exhaled, all feeling of happiness escaping him…

'That's right,' said a woman whom he assumed stood in the doorway, Draco refused to open his eyes; he wanted… wanted… what was he dreaming about? He'd forgotten… completely forgotten…

'Shit!' he hissed as he hit the throw-pillow he was cuddling with his fist and sat up, rubbing his eyes 'shit, shit, shit, shit!'

'Yup!' said the lady, he could now see dressed still in her Death Eater robes 'that's what you're in when we see the Dark Lord tonight…' she laughed and walked out of the room 'Amycus, get that brat out of his Hogwarts robes and into something more ceremonial, I'm sure the Dark Lord would like to see his blood spread across his clothing, and you and I both know it's impossible to watch such a phenomena on black' the order was heard from her mocking voice trailing down the hall

The man still crouching by the couch had a smug look on his face.

'Fuck you!' muttered Draco

'Boy, you have a lot to learn' the man said, grabbing Draco's forearm and lifting both himself and the boy from the couch area, dragging him in the opposite direction of his sister towards Draco's room

The walk was made in silence; Draco sneaked looks at Amycus, why had the Dark Lord selected this man to accompany his would-be glory killing of Professor Dumbledore? But before he could thing any further they had reached the oak doors of his bedroom two floors up, the wood decorated with the familiar Hungarian Horntail with it's green-ruby eyes shining.

'Get dressed brat, Severus will be up in a minuet to check on you… it's a wonder he's been able to keep your mother under control for so long' Amycus laughed 'she actually had the idea of running away with you to some other country a few hours ago… that was a hoot to hear her scream about' Draco was thrown against his bedroom door, but poised himself and wheeled on the spineless Death Eater that had taken to see to him with an immense urge to zap him with a nasty hex 'don't try anything funny Drakeie boy…' Draco exhaled, that would be a bad idea after all, he thought…

He pushed his doors open, sighing, he would probably die tonight.

As he closed his room off he could hear Amycus laugh 'keep the clothes as white as possible Jr.' a chill shot right down Draco's spine, and he collapsed backwards onto his childhood-bedroom door _I'm a gonner…_his hands went up to clasp his face, and he hoped that no one could see him like this _Father, father, why? Why must I die? Why? _And he felt the tears flowing down his cheeks, his chest heaving, and all feelings of hope leaving his known self as he slid down against his door onto the cold black floor.

Mother's idea of running away didn't seem so bad… but it was hopeless… noone, he was told, could escape the Dark Lord after the wizard decided he wanted you dead.

* * *

_This chapter has not been Betad due to complication, I promises the next one (which is already written) is much much much longer. And better, and will answer most of your question…_

_Featuring the return of Dumbledore (well, in a way), Ginny, Harry, and Ron's greatest fear. PLUS What's going to happen to Draco?_

_Stay tuned,_

_-GoddessOfMars_


	2. The Mercy That Matters

**Title:** Draco Requital

**Chapter:** 2 – The Mercy That Matters

**Author:** GoddessOfMars2

**Updated: **July 27th 2005 00:40

**Rated:** R for violence and mature theme

**Featuring:** Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley/Harry Potter + Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but old socks and a worn-out Asimov collection

**Summary: **After killing Dumbledore, Draco and the Death Eaters flee Hogwarts

* * *

**Chapter Two **

**The Mercy That Matters**

'Your thoughts are far from correct Draco'

He looked up through his tear-soaked eyes, Snape. That was the last person he felt like seeing right now, the one who stole his glory, the one who was responsible for his soon-to-come death by the Dark Lord's wand.

_Get out of my head_ he thought

'No' replied Snape

'Who are you to even be here? How can you set foot in this house? How dare you walk upon my father's floor when you'll be responsible for the death of his only heir!' Draco was fighting a voice that longed to crack with tears

Snape sighed and walked over to Draco's desk, the aged wood was draped with a velvety table-cover, the Malfoy family crest sewn into the fabric, a small pile of Draco's past schoolbooks were neatly arranged upon it. He picked up a copy of _Hogwarts A History_, opening it to what Draco assumed were the few folded down pages he'd used to track down the possible uses of The Room of Requirements… he remembered how frustrating it was looking for hints of the room's existence among the pages that so dearly held on to it's secret.

'You put a lot of energy into that plan, didn't you?' the Potions master retorted

Draco wiped his wet hands on the sides of his school robes and pushed himself off the floor

'I need to get ready for my execution, if you don't mind' Draco muttered in between gritting teeth.

'now, now, Draco, why such a muggy attitude?' were Draco's ears betraying him? Was his former teacher _smiling_ at him!

Draco walked to his cupboard on the other side of the bedroom and yanked it open, it wasn't as full as he was used to seeing it, after all most of his clothes and belongings would still be sitting comfortably in his school dorms _fuck!_

Snape was proceeding towards him, Draco watching from the corner of his eye, he turned his attention back to searching for his funeral-clothes… _white…_ he though _I don't look good in white… I wonder if mother kept my christening clothes…_

'Try this' Snape leaned over him and grabbed a pair of light-green robes and a black travel cloak

Draco didn't look his way 'I was told by Alectro to wear white, that that's what the Dark Lord wants' he hissed

'That's ridiculous! Your mother would have a heart attack just _listening_ to you boy!' Snape slammed the doors of the cupboard shut and then Draco into the middle of the room, he threw the chosen clothes onto the boy's bed and paused, looking at a face he knew so well 'How can you have so little hope in the greatest Dark wizard to ever walk among us?'

'Because he's going to kill me, just a though.' Draco added, his voice had adopted a certain rasp to it

Snape shook his head 'with an attitude like that of course he will you idiot child!'

Draco thought this man was bonkers, this idiot thought that he had a chance of surviving when he'd failed to fulfill the wishes of the Dark Lord? He'd heard that in the past Voldemort had killed Death Eaters for less… this was hopeless… he might as well swallow some poison now…

'Listen Draco' Snape inhaled sharply 'what happened at the castle was a mess, that's for sure-'

Draco snorted

'But listen here' he continued 'if Dumbledore is dead, then the final mission was accomplished, was it not? And the Lord is a very reasonable man, he'll admire how much effort you put into getting the others in, you're constant dedication and-'

'He wants to kill me because of what father did, I don't think he'll care much for my efforts in fixing some stupid cupboard when now he has the perfect excuse to kill me' Draco felt a stab in his chest, he never wanted to die at 17.

The two of them stood there, looking at each other, nether knowing what else there was to say

'Get dressed boy' Snape ordered finally 'Your mother wants to see you before we go'

_Great_ Draco though, maybe she's found a way out of this mess for me.

'Tough chance' were Snape's final words before he popped into thin air.

Pfft, Dissaparating in Malfoy Manor… father would soil himself if he knew…

* * *

Minerva McGonagall was in Dumbledore's office… she was pacing, an activity that had ensued ever since the Head's meeting and the ministry-representative's visit had ended hours previous 

Was it true? Was it Draco Malfoy who had let in the Death Eaters? What were Harry and Dumbledore up to before he died? How was she going to tell the students tomorrow morning? How was the order going to continue now that their leader was gone? What stopped He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named from simply marching into Hogwarts at any time now?

A million questions, and each led to 100 more

'Minerva, you shouldn't pace so harshly on that floor, it shall do you no good'

The woman whirled around to the source. Dumbledore's portrait looking at her playfully

'Albus…' she whispered

'Minerva, you're Headmistress now… there are some decision you must make, regarding the school… and those within it, I doubt you could make them in this state'

McGonagall stared at him, this was the leader whom was gone mere hours ago, she'd forgotten that his memory would be preserved within a portrait

'Albus, I don't know what to do! There is so much to worry about, I just…' she exhaled 'Just cant keep a straight face for much longer'

There was silence in the room; the other headmaster's portraits were listening in on the conversation

'I would close the wretched place down' said a stubby man with beady eyes. McGonagall stared at him

'There will be time for thoughts on that' Dumbledore's portrait said to the other 'meanwhile', he turned back to McGonagall 'you must get some sleep, in a couple of hours, there will be hundreds of students out there looking for answers.'

There was a pause, and then

'You're right' she said, and she stole a look at Dumbledore's portrait one more time before heading for the exit

'Oh, and Minerva' he spoke once more

'Yes?' she turned back to the wall of alert Headmasters

'Have mercy on young Malfoy, I believe there's more to it than just good and evil'

And with that his eyes closed, and Dumbledore's portrait pretended to sleep.

* * *

The door clicked quietly behind him 

'Mother?'

The weeping had stopped, and the woman with silk blond hair rose from a seat by the mirror of her dresser, her black Death Eater robes thrown on the bed, pressed and ready. She turned to her son

'Draco?'

'Yes' he asked, noting that her face was red with tears, he had long ago calmed down, he couldn't appear before the Dark Lord crying like a newborn baby

She rose from her seat and walked to him, he was 17, he was not a baby, he would not appear weak, he needed to be strong.

'Draco' She said his name in sort of a sob, and hugged him. She'd pulled away from him long minuets later, hissing, her right arm reached for her left

'He wants me there mom, we need to go'

Narcissa looked up at her son 'you've grown so tall…' she said, chocking on the words, still holding her arm

'Mom…' Draco whispered

A knock was heard at the door, and it opened

'Dawn has broken' it was Alectro, his mother hissed again as the woman's face in the door twitched in what he knew was pain from her mark 'Amycus, and Snape have already left, the Dark Lord will be expecting both of you there soon' she turned her attention to the frail figure of his mother, the woman's voice softened 'Cissa, please make the right choice' and with that, she Disapparated

* * *

Draco's feet came in contact with the soft ground, softened by the morning mist. It had been days since he'd last slept, _but that doesn't matter when you're dead, does it?_ He though smuggishly, and began walking towards the noise arising from the cluster of Death Eaters, which appeared to be coming from a clearing not so far away 

'So Dumbledore's dead you say?'

'I cannot believe it!'

'Will we take Hogwarts?'

'I'm sure Grayback will have a field day'

A group of them laughed

Draco on the other hand had leaned himself up against one of the old trees close to the clearing, watching the celebrations and laughter of the gathering crowd, all awaiting their leader _Where's mother?_ He wondered, she said she would be right behind me

'That boy takes after his father'

'Accept he's got a better head on his shoulders'

'Yup… it'll be a shame to loose him'

Chuckles

'I wonder if it'll be Crucio or the clean cut Avada Kadavra'

Laughter, and then a silent pause

The air had all of a sudden grown cold, almost unbreathable, this was supposed to be a beautiful time of day, the sun just breaking beyond the horizon, birds tweeting in the forest, but all that didn't matter, the cold that had fallen upon them could mean one thing only. Draco looked up, and there he was, the Dark Lord.

All present scattered into a circle around him, pulling on their hoods but leaving off their masks, Voldemort stood in the middle of a well-organized circle, and Draco continued just watching, his vision somewhat obscured by the few taller Death Eaters standing in a circle ahead of his leaning place by the clearance.

'Welcome' the Dark Lord spoke, and then paused, Draco knew he was looking beyond the Death Eaters that blocked him out of vision, and straight at his being

'Well, well, little Malfoy, what makes you hide in the shadows like a packrat? Why don't you join us' That wasn't a question, at that moment Draco lost his poise and was hurled into the air, slammed into the center of the circle at the feet of the Dark Lord

He hoped it was just him imagination, but a cry escaped his mouth as the crack of what he felt were at least three ribs breaking beneath him, his breath uneven, he continued looking at the earth his face was so close to

The Dark Lord laughed, his followers laughed with him, then stopped

'You failed to fulfill your mission little Malfoy' the Dark Lord passed around him, towards the other side of the circle 'Bellatrix, beauty' Voldemort ran his long fingers along the woman's cheek 'you're his aunt, what do you think I should do with the boy' the smile that had appeared on the woman's face disappeared 'well…' the wizard pressed, and then, with the faintest hint of feeling 'you… you should kill him sir' and Draco, still sprawled on the ground, heard the wizard's cape whirl around as he proceeded back in Draco's direction, the boy felt himself being lifted into the air, his abdomen aching like he'd never felt before

'Did you hear that boy?' the Dark Lord spoke, 'your own Aunt feels it'll only be appropriate if I kill you'

Draco tried to stop himself, but he coughed, sending a spasm of pain into his chest

He felt himself being dropped through the air, and before he could inhale his front came colliding with earth once more

'Pathetic' Voldemort spat 'your father's boy'

And with this the Dark Lord's voice turned from him to his servants 'because I am quite bored with this situation, I am going to cut off a little bit of the execution protocol, and skip right to the end' Voldemort was now pacing, holding a very bored and sarcastic tone of speech 'will anyone present at this meeting, present a line of defense as to the boy living?' there was quiet for a brief moment, even the birds did not chirp.

And then,

'I will' a slow oily voice spoke

'Well, well, well, Severus' the powerful wizard wheeled on his follower 'and please,' he smiled 'tell us why this… this pure-blood dirt' the Dark Lord stepped on Draco's spread fingers as he walked towards Snape 'should be allowed to walk my world?' there was another pause

Snape bowed his head, Draco closed his eyes, focusing on not feeling the pain that now swelled in both his chest and left hand, praying that Snape had a plan, that his mother would show up, that the world would spare him, that the Dark Lord would kill him already, anything, to stop this pain.

'Sir, now that Dumbledore is gone by my wand, I shall not be able to return to Hogwarts'

'So?' the Dark Lord was getting impatient

'Well, oh magical one, you no longer have a spy within its walls'

'And again Severus, I ask you why the fuck that matters' Draco thought that if Snape opened him mouth one more time Voldemort would find it appropriate to brake the greasy man's bones as well

Snape bowed his head to his master 'Sir, seeing as the boy did not kill anyone, he is the perfect candidate to be sent back to Hogwats as a spy'

The Dark Lord paused; he seemed to be taking this suggestion into consideration, because he began pacing. No one said a word, Draco couldn't tell if it had been one minuet, or ten, since Snape had spoken

'LEAVE' Voldemort finally barked, no one moved 'get the fuck out of here, all of you!'

And just as he had ordered, Draco began to hear popping sounds all around him, as the men and woman of the Death Eater clan, began Dissaparating, and once the sounds had died down, Draco began feeling a tingle at the back of his neck. The Dark Lord was watching him

'Get up' the wizard ordered, and Draco tried to do as he instructed, allowing no whimpers to escape him as he painfully pushed himself into a seating position on the ground, and then attempted to stand in, though failed, sitting there, panting heavily

'Pathetic.' The Dark Lord hissed again

'So there you go prettyboy, your ass has been spared by Severus' utter lack of incompetence of keep his loyalty to me hidden '

Draco's heart began to pound _I'm not going to die?_ A floating feeling began to swell in his belly

'Now see here boy' the Dark Lord spat, and Draco felt himself being lifted onto his feet, his broken ribs screaming with pain from the weight and effort of maintaining a standing position 'You,' he continued 'are to return to Hogwats, I don't care how you do it, but convince them that you had nothing to do with the events of tonight! Then, you are to make sure you keep an eye on whatever the fuck is going on over there, -including potter, get into the staff meetings, knock teachers unconscious and use Polijuice potion to impersonate them for all I care, just get into those bloody meetings. And every Friday you are to come here, and await me, so to deliver the reports.' Voldemort's face was inches away from Draco now, he could do nothing but control shivering, staring at those snake-like slits of a nose – unable to look into the man's eyes, the white face that made him look like a corpse 'I warn you boy, If you screw up this time, even in the slightest of letting a first year get a glimpse of what you're doing, you can count on your mother being Nagini's next feast!' spit-flakes came in contact with his face at those last words

'Dismissed' Voldemort Proclaimed finally, and Dissaparated, Draco collapsed on the forest ground, the world went black.

* * *

The end of July rolled around, and the summer could have not been more beautiful, it was as if the world was trying to tell Ginny that everything would be alright, that there was still hope in the world, that Voldemort could still be defeated, even if Dumbledore was gone… 

There were four weeks left until she was due back in school for her sixth year, and to tell the truth, no one knew if there would be a school next year at all

Shrills were heard from overhead, her mother no doubt. Ginny dried her hands of the dish-soap and walked into the living room. There, in all her white glory, stood Phlegm, dressed in the most amazing white dress _she_ could possibly imagine

'Wow' Ginny exhaled

'Du you like eet?' the woman asked 'I bought eet in zee most expenziv deezigner shop een France' Fleur gave a little twirl, the dragging fabric dancing around in her circles, glowing even in the already well-lit living room

'I think it's beautiful' whimpered Molly

'Vot do you tink Ginny?' the bride turned to her, the girl in rags standing there gaping, a dishtowel in hand

'I… I… I think its-'

'Ginny! Ginny! Come quick!' a panicked male voice came from upstairs 'shit! Shit! Ginny!'

_Ron_ she thought

Up the stairs and into his room she went, there, the sight was one to bawl over! Her brother, was curled up, ontop of his cupboard, staring petrified down at the ground, shaking and shivering

'Ron?' Ginny asked

'Gi… Gin…' his teeth rattled violently against each other

'Ron?' she was smiling 'what the hell is wrong with you?'

'CANT YOU SEE THEM!' he was now pointing at the floor by her feet 'THEY'RE CRAWLING ALL OVER YOUR SANDALS!'

'Who's "them"'? she asked, he was starting to worry her

'THE FUCKING SPIDERS GINNY!' he yelped, and started shivering at the ones he thought to be the ones crawling up the cupboard drawers

Uncontrollable laughing had at that moment burst out from the corridor _what the hell?_ Ginny thought

And as an answer to her unmuttered thought, George came into the room his eyes screwed tight and holding his stomach, still, laughing.

Ron's panic changed to hyperventilation

'George…' Ginny asked inquisitively 'What's going on here'

George laughed

'I gave him Boggart juice! Hahahha, he thought it was Firewhisky' he coughed on his laugh, then collapsed onto Ron's bed, letting the laughs bellow out it waves

'Fuck… Fuck you George!' Ron managed to whisper, still letting his gaze dart to the many corners of the rooms, undoubtedly following the imaginary spiders

'George! How the hell do I fix this now?' Ginny asked, and when George just continued laughing, she kicked his dangling leg as hard as she could

'OWWW! Crap Gin! What was that for?' George asked, a huge smile still plastered over his face, now rubbing his injured shin

Ginny held out her hand for what she hoped would be the antidote, and just as she did George fished around in his robes and pulled out a small clear bottle with what seemed to be cloudy stuff floating around inside it

She walked over to Ron, whom was flinching with every step of hers; she assumed she was stepping on his spiders

'Drink up' she said, holding the now open bottle out to Ron

* * *

_If I knew that there would be this much planning involved in the wedding I would have taken Hermione up on the offer of crashing at her place for the summer_ Ginny though, she'd been slowly letting her temper slip 

At the cake shop

At the caterer

At the French designer Phlegm brought in to do the rehearsal dinner decors

At the idiot florist whom seemed to not understand that the wedding theme was _light_ blue

'Umph!' she made a frustrated noise

'Something wrong Gin?' _was that…no…_

Ginny turned around

'HARRY!' she dropped the potato she was pealing (more like massacring) and ran to the entrance, flinging herself at the boy, he caught her by surprise

She could feel his arms tight around her, and pressed herself into the hug she'd longed for since… she couldn't remember, a large smile practically tattooed on her face, her nose lost in his T-shirt, she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent, he always seemed to smell of freshly-cut lawn, hospitals, and that indescribable smell of boys

'Ginny…' he whispered into her hair

She drew back and looked at him, honey meeting green, and they paused there for a moment, just lost, holding on to each other. It was as if time had frozen in the kitchen of the Burrow.

'Hey Harr- umm…' Fred walked into the kitchen with Ron

Harry snapped into consciousness and broke away from Ginny, lightly glazing the front of her shirt

'Umm… we, could come back… later?' Fred said, Ron was just blushing a light shade of Pink, he wasn't used to seeing his sister look at people like that

'Nah,' Harry said, readjusting his glasses 'what's been up guys?'

'Well…' Ron started, and the two boys walked out of the room, Harry sending a final look at Ginny asking for forgiveness, leaving her in the company of the only one who could never take anything seriously; Fred.

'So Harry-boy still has a puppy?' the brother smiled, seating himself at the kitchen table, grabbing an apple from the basket Molly had placed there earlier, taking in a mouthful

'You.' Ginny grumbled 'are soooo tactless'

'Well?' Fred asked, his mouth still full, he reminded her of Ron

'I would like to think,' Ginny said angrily, returning to the massacring of her potatoes, just this time she had a different motive for slashing at their skins 'that I am _more_ than a simple puppy'

'Like wha'? A hound dog?' Fred, still speaking through a mouthful retorted

Ginny sighed loudly _what **was** up with her and Harry?_

* * *

The boys walked out the front door, and out around the house, Hary thought they could get some peace and quiet there, and he could finally tell Ron he was going to visit his parents that Tuesday, he'd just forgotten that the wedding was to be held in that same back yard, mere day away. 

Busstling around the place, Harry could see a woman standing with Fleur at the altar, looking out onto the rows of chairs (there seemed to be hundreds of them), casting a different arrangement of chair decors and looking over at Fleur for the OK, receiving a nod every time

'Oh,' Ron retorted 'They have the chairs out again' he said, he sounded as if he were just about to vomit his breakfast

Harry pulled Ron away from the chairs and into the shade of a tree a little off from the center-aisle

'Listen Ron, I was thinking of going to visit the parents on Tuesday-' he began

'But Harry! That's the wedding date!' Ron whined

'So?'

'well! You can't very well leave me here for the entire ceremony with nothing to do but Hermione'

Harry grinned at his friend 'Ron, did you really want it to come out that way?'

Ron scrunched his face up, rethinking the words that just exited his mouth, the he gaped at Harry 'shit, I mean, NO, I mean…' Ron hung his head

'It's ok mate, I get it…' Harry pet his friend teasingly on the shoulder

'So you'll stay for the whole thing?' Ron asked

'I'll stay until "I Do" after that I'm off'

'And when will you be back?' Ron asked

'You mean to get you?'

'Yeah… I thought you had a great lead on those Hufflepuff Goblets'

'I did… we could go check them out when I get back'

'Which is?' Ron was getting impatient

'Well, I dunno… I don't know how long I'll be'

'Have you ever been there before?' Ron asked, Harry loved his friend for his almost utter lack of tact

'No…' he said, after a short pause

There was a short but awekward silence that fell upon the two, Harry thought about this trip with no rest for the past few weeks, deciding to put it off for awhile, hiding out at Privit Drive, knowing he had protection there, incase the Death Eaters were out looking for him now that Dumbledore was gone… Dumbledore was _gone_…

'So…' Rob began 'are you staying for dinner? Ginny's cooking because mom is out with Bill getting his tux done, they had to Floo all the way to France on Fleur's orders, she wants all the outfits for the wedding made by the same pricey designer' Ron shrugged 'go figure eh? Women'

_Ginny_ Harry thought, and then it hurt, he couldn't get that burning feeling out of the pit of his stomach, and if he wanted to hide her from Voldemort, he needed to be able to control it, he had to…

'I'll think about it, tell Gin to set an extra plate for me…' Harry said slowly

'Why? Where are you going this time?'

'The Dursley's' he answered, but he hoped that Ron couldn't tell that that was such an obviously blatant lie.

* * *

'Hide it! But that's ridiculous! Children need sunlight' 

'And Quidditch'

'And proper schooling!'

'She has a point though'

They all looked at him

'I mean,' He continued 'How would they live to enjoy all those things in the future if we don't provide them with protection first?'

A silence fell, suggesting all were turning the idea over in their heads

'But…' a drowning voice came 'If, hypothetically we follow through with this, where would we do it?'

'Underground'

'But they'll know that area better than most of the children'

'And don't forget Severus Snape'

Another pondering silence

'What if we use a secret keeper?'

'That's ridiculous! Those never work'

'It worked on the Order's headquarters!'

Again, consideration ensued

'I can see a grim future to this idea…'

'Oh shut it Sibil!'

A huff, and then

'But who could we use?'

'We need someone invisible'

'Someone they would never think we would entrust with such responsibility'

'But yet still someone responsible'

'And of age!'

'And skilled'

'And-'

A knock on the door brought the many stuffed in the room and around the table to an abrupt pause

The door slid open

'Professor McGonagall, I have a message from Harr-' but Hermione stopped in her tracks staring around at the many staff in the Headmistress' office 'Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't realize that-' she started

'Perfect!' exclaimed Horace Slughorn

* * *

When Harry Potter popped into the Disapparating entrance of the Ministry of Magic, many heads of comers and goers turned, _I wonder how many of them know I'm not 17 yet_ He smiled at himself at this knowledge of rebellion, and right infront of god-knows-how-many ministry officials. 

He walked to the guest check in (come on, he wasn't that cocky) and signed in, the new guard on watch giving him a friendly nod and sending him on his way

Harry founds himself, mere minutes later infront of Percy Weasley's desk

'Hullo' he said with fake cheer, he knew exactly what ticked the weird Weasley off

'Oh. It's you Harry' the redhead said half-heartedly

'I'm here to see Scimgeour'

'He's busy' Percy lied

'Oh Percyboy, now do you think the Minister will be very happy when he finds out you'd turned away _the Chosen One_' Harry muttered the last three words with gleeful mocking

Percy gave Harry the weirdest hate-look he ever remembered getting, and then stood up from his desk infront of the Minister's office knocking on the door

'Enter' was heard in a dull yet rushed tone from beyond the door

'Why thank you Percy' Harry said and pushed passed the Weasley, walking straight into Rufus Scrimgeour office uninvited and unexpected, closing the door lightly behind him.

The Minister scribbled a few words, then 'Yes Percy?' and looked up, to see Harry standing before his desk, dumbfounded, he asked 'Harry Potter… to what do I owe this pleasure?' the minister got up and gestured to a chair by his paper-stacked desk, re-poising himself

'I want access to the Department of Mysteries' Harry cut straight to the chaise

'You don't waste any time do you Harry?' the minister had taken on an amused tone with the boy, as if he were speaking to a 5-year-old

Harry looked at the Auror 'I'm serious'

'So am I Harry, in telling you, that unfortunately, no such department exists' the minister poured himself a drink and sat down at his desk again

'Don't play that game with me! I was in there last year, I want access and escort to the room containing the veil' Harry's blood-pressure was rising, he _hated_ being treated like a child

'Now now Harry, I couldn't possibly do that. It's not allowed…'

'Don't. Minister, I'm warning you! I want to visit the veil, now!' Harry was stern and demanding

'No one is allowed into that non-existent department Harry, for the soul factor that, well, it doesn't exist' the minister was inhaling his drink

Harry hated being played 'Then I'm going down there by my self, and when the one whom all are looking to to save all from Voldemort mysteriously disappears after a ministry visit, not even signing out, you can have fun explaining it to the public' and Harry turned to open the door

'Wait' he had him.

'Yes?' Harry didn't turn around

He heard scribbling, then the flutter of a memo, the door opened, and Harry looked up just in time to see a red memo zoom faster than the wind out of the office

'I've summoned Shacklebot, he'll take you to this imaginary place, but I warn you boy, if you spread word that I'm letting teenagers into a department they don't belong in, I'll-'

'You'll what?' Harry asked, wanting to know what the fuck the minister was playing at

No answer came

'Thought so' said Harry

As a knock on the door signaled the arrival of his escort, and he left the minister, alone in his office, overpowered and outwitted by a 16-year-old

* * *

_A/N: (o: did anyone notice the title reference?_

**P.S. a HUGE shout-out to my Betas Sony and Lauren**, whom did an amazing job covering my ass from embarrassing spelling mistakes to horrid sentence structure!

**_Lt. Jaina Solo_** Thanks for the heads up on the spoiler alert, as you may have noticed, I placed one in the description of the fic as soon as I read your comment. **_Too Removed am I_** and **_Dark Angels_** I appreciate the support! Really, I personally think my writing sucks.

Until next time,

_-GoddessOfMars2_


	3. Harry's Turmoil

**Title:** Draco Requital

**Chapter:** OVA 3 – Harry's Turmoil

**Author:** GoddessOfMars2

**Updated: **December 24th 2005

**Rated:** R for violence, language, and mature theme

**Featuring:** Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley/Harry Potter + Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but old socks and a worn-out Asimov collection

**Summary: **Now that Draco has been given his task, how is he to convince McGonagall that his motives are true? And how close to snapping is Ginny? In addition, What's happening with Harry's search for the Hufflepuff goblets? Is anything?

* * *

_A/N_ I apologize in advance for the very little appearance of Draco/Ginny in this chapter, but I need layers in this plot, not to mention that you'll be getting so much Draco-Ginny once year 6/7 starts for them both that you'll be throwing rocks at me to stop. 

P.S. youknow what I always found retarded? Those fics where the author would make Ginny _be so smart that she skips a year_ -laughs- those are seriously messed.

* * *

Harry wasn't holding his wand out this time, he wasn't worrying about an injured Ron, or what might have happened to Neville and Luna, he wasn't worrying about Hermione, or having thoughts on where Lucius Malfoy may pop out from; he was just walking through the Department of Mysteries, breathing in the cool, muggy air 

'Here we are' said Kingsley, stopping by the familiar entrance

Harry snapped out of his zone

'Tha… thanks' he managed

'Would you like me to wait at the door?'

There was a pause, and then 'I would like that'

Harry's tone came out quietly, sounding as if it were not he whom was in control of his mouth. Kingsley smiled at what he saw as a boy, a boy come to visit the closest thing he'd ever had to a father figure. A scared little soul with nothing but hope, a sad hope…

'Scrimgeour doesn't want me to let you in there alone, so I'm going to have to make you promise me, that you wont step into that veil' his tone was soft yet strict

'I promises' Harry whispered, and then walked into the room where his godfather found his death.

Harry stood at the top of the stairs, he remembered seeing Dumbledore standing it this exact spot when the old wizard came to save the day

_Everyone's gone_

_That's what war's all about Harry_

A sigh, Harry started on the stairs down to the veil, stopping mere feet away from it, he could hear people on the other side

'Sirius…' he whispered 'Sirius?' nothing. '_Sirius!' _Harry felt his tong between his teeth making the final hissing sounds of a name, that up until last year, he'd been convinced he would have the pleasure to say forever

A feeling of dizziness came over him; _I'm such a wimp_ he thought, and sat by the horrid fabric.

The boy in muggle clothing sat by the veil for quite a while, looking at the shadows he could barely make out from beyond, trying to see if he could notice Sirius' unwashed or combed figure

The feeling of dizziness grew, the room began to grow dimmer and his glasses blurry, Harry removed them and wiped the lenses on his T, hoping he wasn't missing Sirius among the shadows, the replaced his glasses, the dimness remained, but the blurriness hadn't seemed to re-appear

_He's not coming back, is he?_ Harry thought

_You left me!_ A voice screamed in his head

'You left me' he whispered into the hands that had found their way to his face 'you left me before I could ever talk to you like you used to talk to dad, about girls and mischief and life-callings' Harry's voice cracked with what he recognized as the arrival of tears

His voice shaking 'I need you, and you're not here!' he cried

Harry broke down, letting the lump in his throat swell to three times tit's original size, feeling the tears gathering in his eyes, closing them, the tears trickled onto his cheeks, glazing the skin of his throat as they lay a wet trail southward, his chest heaving…

The room grew blurrier when Harry opened his eyes and took another shallow breath, but he'd assumed it was due to the tears; the feeling of dizziness now clouded his brain, but he'd assumed it was due to his excessive breathing; the room went really dim, but he's assumed it was due to the feeling of doom he was only feeling on the inside, and then – the room went dead silent.

_The whispering's stopped_ Harry remembered thinking, before the dizziness grew so strong he'd been forced to lay his head down on the ground, his eyes still following the now-not-moving shadows.

_OWWW! _He thought, as his eyes closed as the blurriness that was now hurting his eyeballs grew even stronger

And then

'_Harry…'_

'Si.. Sirius?' Harry whispered back, with his eyes closed he tried to open his ears, but had no clue how

A sigh, and then _'what are you doing here?'_ the voice was sad, as if exhausted by a day's work, barely audible in the huge ancient room

'I… I came to see you' Harry whispered again 'Sirius? Is that really you?' he tried to open his eyes but found them shut tight, he tried to lift of the ground but couldn't manage to shift his weight

'_Oh Harry…'_ the godfather began, but his voice trailed away

'Sirius… Sirius! How long do you have? How long can you stay?' the boy whispered frantically, feeling as if he were going to faint

'_What's been happening with you?'_ the deadman asked, as if he did not hear the boy's inquiries

'Hogwarts… it's been attacked Sirius, Bill was attacked by Grayback trying to defend-'

'_Hogwarts? Taken?'_ there seemed to be no alarm or feeling in the tone his godfather carried, just a tiredness

'The Death Eaters were let in by Malfoy, he used those weird cupboards-'

'_Malfoy?'_ Sirius' tired voice seemed to be growing more distant _'Lucius!'_

'No!' Harry said, 'Draco'

'_Oh…'_ the voice droned

'They're thinking of closing it down, but it doesn't matter, because I'm not going back! I need to find Voldemort's-' Harry was cut off

'_Where's Dumbledore?'_

The question seemed to have cut into him like sharp knife _should I tell him? Sirius Black died not knowing a world without Albus Dumbledore, who am I to ruin that for him?_

A silence

'_Where is he Harry? He's still around right? I mean, as long as he was around, the school would never be shut down'_

'He's around' Harry kicked himself mentally 'but the ministry, you know, have the last word'

His godfather sighed, or he thought he did

'_Good. Harry, you need to tell him to find Emily The Wanderer'_ the voice beyond the veil seemed to be growing even more distant and tired

'Emily?' Harry asked

'_Yes. She'll be able to-'_ Harry could barely hear the rest, he tilted his head slightly off the floor, releasing his second ear from suction with the ground _'-kill Voldemort, then all of this will be over'_

Harry was dumbfounded 'she'll be able to kill him?'

'_No! Not kill him!'_ Harry noticed that his godfather was placing great strain on himself to get the next sentence out as loud as he could, though it was still close to inaudible Harry made out _'she'll be able to show you **how** to kill Voldemort! She's been working on a plan'_

'What plan?' asked Harry 'and why didn't you tell me before?' he was tired, barely hearing his godfather

Harry heard a muffle of words followed by what he thought was _'da... dangerous'_

'pfft, danger' Harry muttered to himself, and then 'Sirius! But how do I find her? Where is she? Does she work for the ministry? Would Arthur know where she is?' but even though Harry paused between each question, listening with all his might, he heard nothing. Buzzing had been added to the dizziness in his mind, and then an indescribable pain shot through his head, as if he'd stepped into sunlight after hiding in a dark cave for many years.

* * *

'Enter' an answer she'd been giving anyone who'd had time to climb up the staircases these days, the Gargoyle after all, could not possibly close before she'd programmed it with a new password 

'Professor?' an older female voice came drifting to her, soft and broken. She could not recognize it as belonging to any of the staff; she looked up from her frantic planning. She needed to pull off this disguising before-

'Mrs. Malfoy' she said with amazement 'and Draco' she couldn't believe her eyes

'May… may we sit?' the frail woman's voice almost pleaded

'Of course!' McGonagall said, gesturing to a couple of seats before her 'have a seat'

The two took their places, Draco looking anywhere in the room but her, she'd just seen him scanning the Headmasters' portraits behind her, when she saw him lay eyes upon the one of Dumbledore's and drop his eyes to his shoes

'Professor-' the blond woman began

'Please, call me Minerva' McGonagall said

'Yes… Minerva' the blond paused, glancing at her son, then back at the headmistress 'I have come to you to ask if you would allow my son back into school for his final year' she sounded uncertain of herself

A pause

'Mrs. Malfoy, what Draco has done would land any wizard in Azkaban if of-age –which he is-' the other woman let out a yelp and began crying, McGonagall could not believe what Mrs. Malfoy was asking of her _letting a Death Eater walk among her students_ but then again _was he a death eater? Or just a lost boy, after all… Dumbledore said…_

'Draco' the Headmistress addressed the boy; he did not look up at her, but still at his shoes. She looked him over, could make out a few faint bruises on his hand and wrist, they looked as if whomever had put them there had done so in a great deal of rage.

'Yes ma'am?' he asked, quietly

'Draco, do you wish to return to this school next year?' she was expecting a "no" he looked as if he were being forced to come here

'I must' the boy looked up at her for the first time 'Professor, if I do not return to Hogwarts, the Dark Lord will kill me'

_A half-truth_ Draco thought

'And how is that Draco?' she was curious as to the boy's reasoning. After all, wasn't he a very loyal follower to Voldemort if he'd spent his 6th year plotting to kill the leader of the Order?

'Well,' Draco began, lowering his eyes back to his hands 'My mission last year was-'

But he was cut of

'he was forced into it Minerva, forced into it so to save my life!' the woman across the table from her was begging, pleading, her tears still streaming down her pale face, with eyes for nothing but her son at the moment.

The two did not look at the professor

'Draco,' McGonagall began after a moment 'is this true?'. She wasn't stupid, she could detect lies, if this was a cover story, she would defiantly be able to read it on the boy's face, and if not there than his mind would give way

Draco looked up at his teacher, repressing a grin when he thought _the idiot thinks that the Dark Lord would not force Occulemancy lessons on me prior to this? Ha!_ Then 'It is truth, there was no way for me to get around it ether' he dropped his gaze to his hands this time and continued 'he would have known if I came to Dumbledore, and he would have had her, I cannot loose my mother!' Draco moved his hand to touch his wand through his robe-pocket ever so slightly and thought of the eye-irritating hex he'd practiced for this meeting; his eyes obediently began to water, and he looked at the professor _the pussies on the good side always fall for tears_.

There was a pause, McGonagall put her fingers together, in the same way he could remember Dumbledore did once at dinner during the misshap in fourth year with the tournament.

'I shall consider this and-' the professor began but was cut off

'_Please_ Headmistress, please let my son return! I shall die if he is not able to retain a proper education, and Durmstrang –the horrid place- will just make people talk. Make people think he really _is_ evil'

'… very well Mrs. Malfoy' McGonagall sighed, but I shall need your wand Draco' she turned to the boy, and he reached defensively to the area of it's location, spattering 'Why!' in a manner than took the Headmistress aback

'Well young Malfoy, because considering the events of last a few weeks past, we must take a few precautions concerning you.' She tried to keep her voice calm, not become defensive as she would with other students whom questioned her paths.

'What are you going to do with it? And more importantly: how on earth am I going to pass the summer without a wand?' he was talking down to her now, the Professor was getting agitated, and Mrs. Malfoy could obviously tell because she began fidgeting in her seat

'First off young Malfoy,' McGonagall found herself tittering on the brink of an angry tone 'we shall do with your wand as we wish, if it is your wish to return to Hogwarts for your final year, then I recommend you go along with it. As for what you are to do this summer without it: just pretend you're not of age yet, though I'm sure a house-elf could do your simple biddings for the next –what is it three or four? - weeks of summer' she finished off, Draco was about ready to pop, but he couldn't blow this, not with the Dark Lord on his case.

Malfoy felt McGonagall poking at his brain, trying to get in, and immediately threw up those barriers Snape had educated him so well in constructing

Draco got up from his seat, furious, producing his wand and placing it delicately on the edge of her desk. 'Have a good summer professor'

'It's headmistress now Draco' she corrected him

'-_Headmistress_' he echoed, then bowed and turned away to walk down the steps

'Thank you!' Mrs. Malfoy said, bowing her head, and placing one hand on McGonagall's desk to help elevate herself 'you have no idea how much this means to him' and then the blond exited the room in the footsteps of her son.

* * *

The door closed behind her with a silent _click_, and she stood in the dark entrance hall, a small light illuminating a section of the corridor from a reading lamp she knew came from the living room 

She turned around and locked the white door, first with her key and then the padlock _if muggles think that this stuff will keep them safe when the war breaks out…_

'Hermione…' a tired voice came from behind her, and she turned to it.

Her mother was standing with her nightgown, blocking the little light from the living room lamp, rubbing her eyes

'Why are you home so late again sweetie?' her mother yawned

'It was nothing mom' the girl dismissed, pulling her hair tighter in the pony-tail it was presently in

'Your father…'

'Mom. Please.' Hermione cut the woman off softly 'It's been a long day, it's 4am, I just want to go to bed…'

'How did you get home?' her father was now standing by her mother, the hallway was completely dark now that the light was blocked out by those two. He didn't sound happy.

'I need to sit down, or I'm going to fall asleep right here by the door' Hermione insisted

'How, child, did you arrive back home?' her father pronounced that more as a command than a question. His glasses –or the shadows of- making funny oval shapes on his darkened face, his arms pressed in neat fists against his gangly meter-sixty-five body.

'I used that weird transport-powder to get to London, and then flew the rest of the way' she said in a tired voice, stating to make her way to the short staircase that lead to their bedrooms.

'You were _outside_ of London?' her father seemed furious

'Earl' her mother's tired voice was acting as a soft shield to his tone of voice 'lets discuss this tomorrow over breakfast-'

'No!' he exclaimed, 'I will not have my only child tell me she's going to visit that Harry Potter boy and then end up leaving London and returning home at 4 in the bloody morning. Not to mention without any bloody permission.'

Hermione couldn't believe this, her father was puffing, she could _hear_ him

'You're grounded!' he exclaimed

'Darling!' her mother inhaled

'No! I will not have it!' and then he just stood there

'We'll discuss this in the morning' she whispered in Hermione's direction

'No, we wont' her father tried to keep up the fight

'Ok, ok, we wont discuss it in the morning ok!' Hermione spoke, She wanted to sleep. Now!

And when there was no answer apart from her Father's abnormal puffing, she made her way to the bedroom, onto her bed and collapsed. She heard the faint noises of her parents quarreling downstairs. They always had disagreements on how to raise her; she'd just thought that they would lay off now that she was of age.

_Having twelve Hogwarts professors messing with your magical anatomy for hours on end with sure could drain a girl…_ were her last thoughts before sweet sweet sleep took her away to a land with Magic nothing like the kind she knew

* * *

Mere hours from dawn, and Ginny Weasley could not sleep 

She could not _sleep_!

The blankets were too warm, and then the room was too cold, and then her pajama pants were too silky and then her boxer shorts –which she'd changed into- kept riding up. Everything that could have been keeping her from sleep, was.

Ginny got violently out of bed stamping her foot and **silently** let out the largest puff of air she could

All this planning, all this cleaning and decorating, and the wedding being tomorrow was probably getting to her, not to mention Harry not showing up to dinner, and Phlegm's amazing ability to…

'ARRG' she murmured

She paused, listening to see if anyone else was moving around in the house

_I need sanity! Now!_ And with that in mind she pulled on a semi-fresh cloak and restored her silk pajama bottoms, with them she marched down to the fireplace –making sure to creep by her parent's room-

Ginny pulled a jar off of the fireplace, took some of the powder into her hand and threw it into the now dwindling fire-place _I hope this works_ she prayed, replacing the jar

Seconds later, the _very_ soot-covered redhead emerged out of a fireplace two time zones away

_Now, to find Charlie_

* * *

'What's the diagnosis?' 

'I've never been able solved this before, I've told you already'

'But... what are we going to do then?'

'I have no clue. I have my best researchers on it'

'how did he get here?'

'an Auror brought him in, said he couldn't tell us what exactly happened' an annoyed tone took over 'Ministry rules'

silence, and then 'should we tell the family?'

'He's an orphan remember?'

'I know, I meant his muggle relatives, or Arthur maybe he's close with the boy'

'NO! I have strict orders from the ministry to not let any of this out'

A chart closing sounded in the room, followed by a single set of footsteps, and a door closing

'Oh Harry Potter... how are you planning to save us now?'

the nurse by his bed sighed, and readjusted the covers around him.

Harry Potter heard none of this, he was captured in darkness, in buzzing, in blurry dizziness, his mind captured behind the veil.

* * *

a house elf made it's way quietly passed Draco, but all he noticed was the shadow of it, carrying an oversize tray of beverages. 

Draco was sitting at the foot of the dark dragon-skin couch, a dark potions book sitting in front of him, it's yellow pages glaring at him.

Draco closed his eyes and leaned his head back onto the couch's arm _why father... I never asked for this..._

He could hear the Death Eaters snickering drunkenly from the other side of the study

'Hey Drakey! Come show Parkinson that trick with resisting the Imperious that your father said you can almost pull off!'

Draco sighed, he'd hoped his hiding would make them forget he was there

'NOW!' the man's voice echoed

Draco inhaled, allowing the feeling of crying fall back into the depths of his chest. _Malfoys' don't cry._ He assured himself as he rose to the call,

_Fuck you father..._

* * *

Ginny quietly opened the door to the Charlie's cabin, there were seven singles in there, it kind of reminded her of Fred's room at Hogwarts, and as pissed off as she was, she allowed herself to smile as she shut the cabin door behind her and slowly stepped down the three creaky stairs. 

She froze to the spot as there was some stirring in a bed she passed. The man within it allowing his covers to drop away, revealing nothing but a pair of sleeping shorts. The man shifted to the other side, a muffled mutter was heard, and returned to his sleeping state. She allowed herself to inhale and relax, taking a couple more creaking steps towards another bed to check for her brother.

She looked over another man, he had his thumb in his mouth. She stiffened a giggle. Proceeding to the next bed _four down, three to go_ she though, passing over a couple more beds containing very dark haired boys.

She squinted at the final three beds, there they were all side-by-side, the gloomy early morning air making it hard to make out anything. Two of the beds seemed to be empty _probably the one's on early-morning feeding duty_ she though. The last bed though... she froze, seeing the red hair peeking so violently out of it within the early morning gleam, another smile. She walked over to the side of it, bending down close and smudging a finger into what she assumed to be his side. Everything happened so fast from then on:

The sleeping Charlie opened his eyes and sat up in one fluid motion, tossing the covers down to his waist, revealing a bare chest,

Ginny squeaked as his rapid movement threw her off balance and she landed on the floor in a thump,

Charlie looked at her with wide and sleepy eyes, trying to make out the figure in the darkness of the cabin,

Another figure rose from his side, disturbed by the movement, looked over at Ginny, gasped and grasped at the covers, pulling them away from the rest of Charlie's being,

Charlie pulled the pillow from behind his head and placed it where the covers had been snatched from instinctively,

The two on the bed look over at the girl on the floor dumbfounded, and after a few milliseconds of silence, Ginny let a laugh so full of heart that it bellowed from her chest.

'GINNY!' Charlie managed to hiss angrily

Ginny just sat there on the floor, trying as best as she could to muffle her giggles so not to wake the other sleeping men.

'Char, who's this?' the naked woman beside him asked

Charlie sighed 'That's my baby sister' he looked at Ginny 'would you get the fuck out so I can put some unders on?' he zapped at Ginny

Ginny giggled, took a deep breath, wiping tears away from her eyes, making sure to not look up at her brother on the bed 'seriously Charlie, the least you could do is put a sign up on the door... and in a _communal_ residence!' she kept giggling

'GET OUT!' he whispered loudly

'Fine, fine, I'm outside...' she smiled at the floor, brining her hand to cover her eyes as she lifter herself off of the floor and then removed it once she turned away, sneaking quietly back towards the door she came from.

* * *

Beyond the buzzing and fogginess that had dominated his mind he managed to make out what sounded like a boy's screaming, or was it sobbing, or was it thrashing? 

A moment later, it grew louder and more violent

_I must help him! Where is that coming from? Is something wrong?_

The noise got ever so louder, and more vivid

When he opened his eyes and lifted his head off the pillow Harry could see the source of the screaming, but it lay in a curtained off area of the room

Harry lifted himself off the bed_ dammit kid, I'm coming!_ He hissed as the movement sent sparks of pain into his buzzing mind. He flung his legs over the side of the bad as he pushed the covers aside and in a fluid motion he landed smack on the floor

And crumbled to his feed, the boy on the other side of the room still screaming, thrashing and panting in what seemed to be the largest amount of agony Harry had ever heard, not that he wasn't missing out on the feeling himself

_Fuck!_ His legs just seemed to not respond, there he was, on the floor of what seemed to be a hospital, with the largest racket going on in the room, and his legs wouldn't fucking work

_How the fuck did I get here?_ He managed to think as the door he hadn't noticed flung open, a healers rushed in towards the screaming boy behind the curtains. As he entered Harry managed to get a glimpse of the boy inside, he had to have been no older than six, his body as tiny as a kinder gardener.

The healer had seemed to have cast a silencing spell on the boy, because there still seemed to be as much thrashing as before, Harry could hear the boy's hospital bed squeak. And the men who entered exited the curtains and began making his way back to the door promptly, the man stopped right in his tracks, noticing Harry on the floor for the first time.

"M.. Mr. Potter" he mumbled

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but his voice came out raspy and pained in some sort of a gigrling sound.

The healer rushed over to the floor where harry lay, his arms the only thing holding him off the ground. "I'll be right back" he said, looking over at the other boy's curtains as he helped Harry back onto the bed, then back at Harry. "Look at me" he said, and Harry obeyed, tearing his eyes away from the silently screaming boy "Don't move, ok?"

Harry nodded

The healer disappeared

_what's going on here?_ Harry wondered

* * *

The sound of a door creaking shut was made behind her, but she made no effort to turn to it's source, she was hypnotized by a view she was sure was a crime not to be documented, 

The sun was sluggishly making it's way into view, casing a pink glare on the dark green scenery of the forest surrounding the clearing. The whistling and chirping of birds could be heard from all around, a waterfall -probably not too far off- was adding to the mix of sounds as huge bestial wings flapping to the southern end of the camp... _the dragons_ she thought

"I can see why you love this place so bloody much" Ginny muttered as she heard the door to the cabin creak open, not breaking away from the picture, the hands she was using to prop up her head from her knees making her speech a little slurred.

Charlie exhaled, taking a seat by his sister "you shouldn't be here Gin" he sighed "let alone in my cabin!" he let a smile slip into his tone, and then knocked her in the shoulder playfully, causing her to lose her trans and look over at him, smiling

"Someone got actioooon..." she teased

Charlie smiled at the horizon "and you just had to stop my fun!" he said pouting, then turned and ruffled her hair, "what are you doing here anyways Ginny, mom'll flip if she finds you came"

Ginny exhaled, letting the amused smile fade from her face "I just needed..."

"Space?" Charlie added

"Yeah"

"I know what you mean" he said, laying over to one side on the wooden outskirts of the cabin and looking out "Another reason why I haven't come around while the wedding plans are going"

"Youknow... now that Bill's signed off, it's your turn next" Ginny smiled

"fuck no!" her brother said quickly, applying a horrified look onto his face "no way I'm ever letting something like _Fleur_ run my life" he shuddered playfully

"You have no choice" Ginny began "she's practically assigned herself 'Weasley Family Manager' you should see her quietly redecorating while mom's not watching, and throwing out dad's bits and pieces to make room for ornaments... not to mention how she's put a Slow-Glow-Flow spell on almost all the walls so that they'll slowly repaint to fit the carpets without mom noticing; i'd wager a large sum on her already having someone lined up for you"

"You don't say..." Charlie stated in false amusement

"mmhm,"Ginny replied "and wait till you see the robes she's making Bill wear!" she giggled

"now I'm defiantly not getting married!" Charlie said

And just as he finished that one off, his little naked girl came out of the cabin, she just wasn't so naked any more. Both red head's turned to look at her,

"Char? Are you serious?" she asked quietly, trying so obviously to avoid looking at Ginny

"What is sweets?" he asked nonchalant

"That's I'm nothing but temporary entertainment?" a sob seemed eager to break her voice and it was then that Charlie realized that she had probably overheard them

"Sweets, come here" he said, getting up off the floor boards and taking her into a hug "I love you ok! Gin and I were only joking, well, see, I..." Charlie stopped and looked at the girl, Ginny watching with great intent.

Her brother? In a sustainable relationship? Ha! She thought

"And what's that supposed to mean Char? That I'm more than a temporary play toy? I'm a long term one!" her voice was _actually_ cracking... Ginny felt bad having to watch

"Bunny!" Charlie exclaimed as the girl pushed him away, pulled out her wand, pointing it right in between Charlie's eyes and her brother's eyes widened

"Don't bother owling me" was the last thing she said before the popping sound indicating her Disapperation filled a moment.

It was no longer than a few more seconds before Charlie sat back down next to Ginny.

"Girl problems?" she asked staring back at the now pink-yellowish sunrise

"No shit!" Charlie said, joining her in the show "I couldn't even remember her name... oh well"

Ginny rolled her eyes

"Mom's going to be a very disappointed woman"

"Why?" he asked "because I'm not throwing my life away and marrying some controlling moron?"

"There's that," Ginny smiled "And then there's the fact that you don't have a date for the wedding now"

A moment of silence filled the air between the siblings, and as the realization dawned on him:

"SHIT!"

* * *

It wasn't until what felt a good five minutes later that the healer returned, another in his footsteps carrying a couple bottles of pink substance. And they ignored him, walking right into to other boy's area. 

A moment later, the thrashing stopped, and the room fell silent. The healer from before exited towards him with a bottle of green sludgy stuff, allowing the other to remain with the 'screamer'.

"Here, take this" the man said, handing the bottle over to Harry

Harry looked at him questioningly, but opened the bottle and allowed the slime to crawl down his throat. In the beginning it seemed to have no effect, but then a burst of chill took him aback and he had to reorient himself.

The healer smiled at Harry for the first time "So, so... Harry Potter makes another amazing recovery, how're you feeling?"

"be... be..." Harry tried, but his voice just seemed to not want to co-operate

"try clearing your throat" the healer suggested calmly

Harry complied and then "be... better" he said with great effort

"Good" the healer said, getting up and picking up the older boy's chart "5:46 Pacient awakes to one of Dustin McPherson's disturbances" the healer talked at the parchment clipped down. Then turned it over to let Harry watch the words magically scratch themselves under many other sentences on a parchment to the title of _Harry J. Potter, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Remedies: Brain Damage Department_.

"Wha... What am I doing in the Brain Damage department?" Harry asked, horrified

The healer replaced the chart on what Harry assumed to be the end of his bed, and then "Because Mr. Potter, you weren't supposed to recover... ever" the healer stated

Harry didn't know what to say

"See," the healer began, and then glanced over in the curtained boy's direction, where the other healer was making himself busy with spell-casting Harry couldn't quite make out the purpose off.

The healer by his own bed side lowered his voice "wherever it was that you came from, and whatever it is that you saw or heard or touched..." the old healer paused, his old eyes gleaming even thought there was very little light in the room "there were two others that came before you... that were found the way you were found"

Harry gave him a quizzical look "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

The healer sighed "I've been here, in this department, on night duty for the past forty five years, and in those years I've seen scars and wounds from lack of ministry control, old magic, dark magic, black magic, and the rise and fall of He Who Must Not Be Named. To most magic, one can put a face to, one can explain, but once in a while someone comes to this department with symptoms so unique that there's not even an explanation as to how they attained their current condition..."

"What does this have anything to do with anything?" Harry yawned, his hand coming up to cover his mouth, his eyes rolling shut

The old healer seemed to take on a look of panic at this sudden action "open your eyes!" he commanded at Harry urgently

Harry's eyes snapped open, alarmed "wha? What's the matter?" he asked in sleepy panic

"listen to me and listen close" the healer said, getting a little too close to Harry for comfort's sake, "I want you to keep your eyes open, don't. Even. Blink. I'm going to get something, and you're going to keep your eyes open. Do you unsertand?" the healer asked in urgency "Mr. Potter, are you listening?"

Harry's eyes were bug eyed, he was holding them as open as he could, they began to sting from lack of moisture... oh how he longed to close them. When he realized the healer was awaiting a response he nodded.

"good, i'll be back" he said, and disappeared

* * *

She tiptoed down the stairs, through the hall, picked her shoes up and held them in her hand 

_trying to put them on now isn't worth the risk_ she thought, and turned to open the door.

The girl yawned, two and a half hours sleep, god how she craved more.

She stepped outside, holding her breath as she closed the door behind her, letting it out only after she heard the lock click back into place.

_It was around 6am... Ron was in for a nice awakening._ She smiled mischievously

POP the girl dissaparated, leaving only an early muggle jogger wondering if what he'd just seen truly occurred.

* * *

"Open your mouth!" the healer commanded, as he speed-walked his way over to Harry's bed from the door. 

Harry knew better than to object, his eyes were tearing, he longed to close them, disappear into sleep-land, but instead he opened his mouth, and watched as the healer opened a can filled with... what were those? Orbs of light?

Before he could think about it any longer one of them flew right into his mouth and down his throat. The boy coughed for a short while, then looked up at his healer, grudgingly

"What was that?" Harry asked while clutching his throat

"it's an old trick, but never mind that for now, I need to get your statement in case it doesn't work. We don't have much time." the healer went for the writing pad he'd previously shown Harry.

"In case what doesn't work? What's wrong with me?" Harry began to feel frustration bubble in his chest, he was tired of being treated like a child. First Dumbledore, then Sirius, Lupin, Molle Weasley, the minister of magic his hyness Scrimgeour, harry thought grudgingly a child, a poor little orphan boy with no parents...

the healer must have noticed the change in Harry's tone, because he softened the urgency of his own "Listen Mr. Potter, I can tell you all I know, but first I need to get this statement down, please." he stressed

Harry let out a groan of disapproval, and the healer took this as consent

"ok, so here goes, I'll put this pad down, you talk, it'll record whatever you say, then I'll fill you in on what I know, agreed?"

Harry looked at the pad grudgingly "I've had bad experiences with writing utensils left to their own merits"

The man must have missing Harry's innuendo, so he went on "please Harry, we might be wasting precious time"

"ok, ok, fine... so I was down in the department of mysteries...

and the pad scratched his story away, Sirius Black's reappearance in Harry's life, reduced to parchment carrying a Brain Damage Ward crest...

* * *

The Headmistress sat in her office – or to be exact, slept in her office - her head laid on a pile of parchments and letters. 

A Phoenix swooped down on her, coming to rest on her shoulder. Dawn was breaking.

The bird nibbled at her ear, she opened her old eyes and looked at the bird

"Oh Albus, how we miss you..." she spoke to the bird, pretending -even if it be for a moment- that it would be able to transfer the message to her old friend who lay out in the world after life.

"Well, you're right, no time to waste, we have a big day ahead of us don't we?" she spoke to the bird "lot's of things to do, magic to be done, spells to be cast, charms to be set" she stopped and smiled at the bird still stationed on her shoulder while she collected her parchments and quills "and I'm speaking to a bloody bird" she picked up Draco's wand and pocketed it.

McGonagall shook her head at herself, _Merlin, what am I thinking? _

And on that note she made her way down the staircase, out the stone gargoyle, passed the great hall, and down to the Slytherin dungeon where she was to meet Slughorn... _what am I getting myself into_ she wondered... _and where's Remus? He promised he'd be here by now. Gosh I overslept..._

And as the sun broke the horizon of the Hogwarts grounds, and the flowers opened their petals to accept the dew of morning, no one would have wondered that anything had changed at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... or that the unthinkable was about to transpire.

* * *

"All of those were magic I could explain, put a face to, apart from two patients that showed up here about twenty three years ago." The healer looked back over to the other end of the room, seeing that his colleague had completed his work. He waited for the other to exit the room and then continued, "It was a case of a woman and son, they had both been found, by their family. At the time I wasn't told what happened, but I can just assume now that they had been fond beside that unexplained veil of yours..." 

Harry's eyes grew wide

"I never got to visit the scene of the injury, the minister of magic at the time, Rowan Quinsy, said it had been cleared and clensed so to avoid anyone else from contracting whatever it was that the two first victims had"

_Typical minister of magic behavior._ Harry thought, rolling his eyes

"I had never heard of the supposed 'outbreak' thing again, until last night when Kingsley dropped you off in the same state Dustin and his mother came in"

Harry looked over at the boy behind the curtains

"Yes" the healer said, knowing the question unuttered "that's Dustin..." a sigh escaped the man's lips

"But... but he cant be any older than six! Maybe seven!" Harry said in horror, remembering the screams and thrashes

The healer smiled at Harry as The Boy Who Lived turned his attention back upon the old man. "True say Harry... see, Dustin came in a few months shy of his seventh birthday, his mother at the time was fifty four years of age, Dustin was her youngest from what I understood, and her only son."

"I don't understand..." Harry uttered

"Dustin's mother died five years after she was brought in... a heart attack resulting from a night just like what happened to Dustin tonight had brought it on, and there was nothing we could do. The two of them have these screaming nightmares, where nothing could stop their thrashing. All we could do is put silencing spells on them and fight them so that they caused themselves any unnecessary damage."

"but that doesn't explain Dustin's size..." Harry said awkwardly

"True say" the healer continued "Dustin hasn't grown an inch since he came in here, because, from what we can assume his mind is frozen in a state of chaos, nothing is functioning properly, not even his digestive or bladder control. He's not changing Mr. Potter"

Harry looked at the healer in total shock "what about me?" he asked fearfully "will I become him?"

"no no no," the healer said "or I hope not. Dustin and Mrs. McPherson came in unconscious, and shall probably remain that way to both of their extinctions. You woke up, I don't know why... but I'm sure that once we're sure you don't sink back into that state; the head of department MaChemist will be more than happy to run some tests" his nonchalant tone was beginning to register with Harry... and irritate him

"So what was that thing that flew into my mouth before?" Harry finally got around to asking, trying to get his mind off the eternal doom the healer was suggesting he might live out.

The healer smiled at him "you know those dreamless sleep potions?"

"mmhm" Harry answered, confused.

"This is a sleepless day bug" the man said, pulling the jar from his hospital robes "it crawls into your bloodstream and effects your brain, not allowing it to rest. It's the only way we've found to counter sleep effectively." the healer was cut off when the door to Harry and Dustin's room was opened

"Malcolm, Ms. Perduty is claiming she's seeing spirits again" the healer at the door said

"sorry Harry, we're going to have to discuss this later... you just take a couple of those and...here" the healer pulled another object out of his robes... it appeared to be something with a copy of _'The Nightly Prophet: The Extras and Latest Events'_ scrolled across the top "find something to do...READ... do anything..." the healer got up to leave, sighed, and then looked at Harry again "and remember: Don't. Fall. Asleep"

Harry turned the folded newspaper over in his hands, realizing it was in fact wrapping something... he unfolded it... a copy of 'The Mysteries of the 20th Century: a Wizard's Edition By: Rowalda Greengrass' rolled out.

Harry smiled to himself... _gotcha' _he said_ stay awake._

* * *

A/N 

So the third installment of Draco Requital is up... sorry for the delay... sorry that us authors always write that we're sorry... but to tell you the truth, it's harder to write shit that's worth publishing than to read it... I used to get frustrated with Cassy Claire back in the 90s when she took too long with her fics (did anyone catch that reference or am I just old in the FanFic world?) :p anyways.. it's Friday and my friend want to see me tonights, so... meh. Goodnight. OH! And Marry Christmas! hope you've been naughty... save poor 'ol fat Santa a trip -wink-

I had SUCH a problem with the story sequence of _Harry In The Hospital, What's Going On With Me, _and_ What's That Thing You Just Let Fly Down My Throat_ that it's taken me three (or has it been four?) months to finish. Believe it or not I write the important sequence of the chapter first, then fill in the occurrences around it in... you'll realize it if you try to read the hospital sequence in order without the connecting parts... they flow -smile-. Yay for me... but not really... seeing as I'm incompetent at getting these out at a nice rate. believe it or not I'm writing this on my laptop at a Tim Horton's at Dufferin and Center St.

**_Dark Angels_** Voldy might not be the guy to say 'fuck' much, but I was going for the whole 'shit! My spy's cover has been blown and the Order were killing off my death eater shit shit shit' kind'a mood -smile-, **_Trisha_** If you're reading this you got the link I sent you (o: but why not just put the story on 'Story Alert' in your profile? **_Jeeths_** thanks! As you should see I've made the changes… and I'll make sure a couple of people look over the next chapter, **_duckiez143 _**we've discussed the matter via e-mail, all I recommend is that you don't let your curiosity get the best of you and keep yourself from continuing to read when there's capital letters declaring a spoiler and you haven't completed the reading of the book,


End file.
